A24 has released the official trailer for Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” starring Julianne Moore, Jesse Eisenberg, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko, Eldar Isgandarov, and Bernadette Peters. The film will be released in theaters this fall.
Plot Synopsis: When Mona Friedman is cast in a bit part at a small community theater, she transforms from a shy, unassuming housewife into a zealous method actor willing to do anything to protect the artistic integrity of her marginal role—even if it means waging war against the show’s domineering director.
What do you all think of the trailer? I think, like everyone, I was a very big fan of Jesse Eisenberg’s last film, “A Real Pain,” but not so much of his directorial debut. While this visually looks like the latter, the goodwill I have for “A Real Pain” is carrying over here and making me believe this will be something special. And, apparently, A24 believes so too, since they’re releasing this one, now officially titled “The Debut,” in the fall, in a prime awards season slot where the film could have its world premiere at one of the fall festivals, perhaps Telluride or Toronto. Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti look absolutely fantastic here. Could this be Paul Giamatti’s long-overdue Oscar win? The role certainly looks like it has a lot going for it, as Giamatti plays a strong-willed, enigmatic community theater director whose spell over Moore’s shy, unexpectedly cast housewife eventually melts into something softer. Eisenberg leveled up so much between his first and second film, technically as a director, that I’m excited to see what he does here, especially with the musical numbers he wrote himself, and with Drew Daniels (“Anora,” “Red Rocket“) behind the camera. Will this be a slam dunk hit for A24? I’m not entirely sure, but having Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, and Eisenberg himself co-starring in a film like this seems like a surefire recipe for success. But what do you think, though? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
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